Have you come across the term “digital credentials”? If you have, then this post will act as a “refresher” guide, and if not, you’ll get a good insight into what digital credentials are and how they can be leveraged.
Overview of Digital Credentials
Digital credentials are a digital representation of paper-based credentials that include a wide range of documents like driver’s licenses, passports, offer letters, degrees, badges, training completion certificates, and online certifications, among others. They have become a new-age token of certifying individuals in an array of ways, in domains spanning schools, universities, EdTech platforms, corporations, and coaching institutions, to name a few.
For example, employees can be awarded digital credentials for completing an organization-led certification, their tenure in the organization, or accomplishing a feat in their department.
Digital credentials have already revolutionized how individuals are certified and recognized. What started as a tangible method of awarding/rewarding individuals via traditional badges has now become end-to-end digital. Digital credentials have become a medium to encourage individuals to share their accomplishments with their network through online media, including social media channels. However, digital credentials are not just limited to this. Let’s look at some of the merits that they offer.
Advantages of Digital Credentials
In the age of digital transformation, there has been a complete overhaul in the modus operandi of organizations. Digital credentials have helped realize this change innovatively. Let’s dig deeper into the primary value that they offer –
- Elimination of paper-based processes – Moving away from the traditional methods of paper-based documentation and operations, digital credentials have eliminated manual processes and brought in greater efficiency. Digital credentials thus stand in line with the Sustainable Development Goals laid down by the United Nations as well – for a greener and cleaner future.
- Instant verifiability – It is no secret that forgery has taken over the world by storm. “Impersonators”, “fake documents”, “fake news”, “forged signatures,” etc., are all familiar terms that make rounds in the market, time and again. With digital credentials, instant verifiability becomes a reality and helps organizations maintain their goodwill by eliminating brand misrepresentation. Any bad actor can easily be identified with a digital credential that acts as a unique identifier. ValidateMe.Online furthers this vision by issuing not only digital credentials but also parsing them through blockchain – securing a credential end-to-end with such state-of-the-art technology.
- Building a trusted network of individuals – With digital credentials in the picture, a trusted network of individuals is automatically created. As many digital credentials can be shared across social media platforms as well, this network is enhanced all the more.
- Easily accessible and available for a lifetime – What happens if you misplace or lose your physical birth certificate or any critical document? It’s gone forever, isn’t it? With digital credentials, this pain point is easily eliminated as they exist in an intangible form – accessible and available at any given point in time. Many credentials are also valid for life – ValidateMe.Online digital credentials, for instance. Once issued through the ValidateMe.Online portal via blockchain, these credentials become valid for a lifetime. This eliminates the need for any manual checks to verify a document time and again.
- Immutability – With digital credentials, ensure end-to-end immutability as they become a verified source of establishing one’s skills or accomplishments. Top this up with blockchain, as leveraged by ValidateMe.Online, and you have a wholesome credential that is completely secure and tamper-proof.
- Shareability – As digital credentials offer credibility to one’s profile, they can instantly be shared across online platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, etc. With increased shareability, a trusted network of individuals (as aforementioned) is harbored.
- Means of Reward/Recognition – As already discussed, digital credentials act as a means to award individuals in an organization. It has become a well-accepted means of recognizing accomplishments or skills while ensuring credibility. These credentials help professionals in not just building their profiles but also help organizations appreciate their workforce, learners, or any individual associated with them in their respective capacities.
Now that you know digital credentials have a lot to offer to organizations and individuals, we’d like to hear from you about how you plan to benefit from it? One of the most interesting facets of adopting digital credentials is that they can be leveraged within almost every industry. Would you like to dig deeper into how it can benefit your industry? Fill up this quick form to help us understand your concerns and industry preferences. Stay tuned for our next post which will explore how digital credentials can leverage blockchain technology!
